Core Honors

The Core Honors Program is one of two honors programs at Seattle University. It is a three-year sequence in which students complete nine required Core curriculum courses in specially designed honors sections. Those selected take these courses as a cohort, and build a learning community that extends beyond the classroom to a variety of co-curricular activities. The courses are thematically linked, and professors collaborate to create an integrated curriculum. The classes are taught as small seminars emphasizing student participation and discussion leadership.

Core Honors is distinct from our University Honors Program, which provides an alternative to the Core curriculum during the first two years of study. Students are invited separately to apply for these two programs based upon their applications to Seattle University. See the University Honors Web Site for more information on this program.

Although both Honors options are open to students pursuing any major with the exception of Nursing students and those in the Matteo Ricci College (who have a separate Core program). Core Honors is designed specifically to meet the curricular needs of highly motivated students whose majors (or other obligations) might make a two year program difficult to fit into their schedules. Majors in business, some sciences, and engineering, for example, might have major requirements that require completion during the first two years. Core Honors students take just one honors course per term; therefore, a number of major requirements can be taken concurrent with the honors courses.

The Curriculum

Core Honors students take honors sections of the following courses:

First Year

Fall: UCOR 1400 Inquiry Seminar in the HumanitiesWinter: UCOR 2500 Philosophy of the Human PersonSpring: UCOR 1600 Inquiry Seminar in the Social Sciences

Third Year

Core Honors students are awarded renewable merit scholarships throughout their undergraduate careers. Their completion of this program is noted on their transcripts.

Application

Application to the Core Honors Program is by invitation. Invitations are issued based on applications to Seattle University. All students entering Core Honors do so as freshmen. The program does not admit students who are currently at the University or who are incoming transfer students.